Review: Uncharted by Adriana Anders
02:30
Title: Uncharted
Author: Adriana Anders
Date of publication: 24 Aug 2021
Genre: Romantic suspense, Alaska
Author's links:
My rating: 2.5 Stars
Blurb
Hotshot pilot Leo Eddowes is afraid of nothing and no one. So when she's asked to evacuate a man from the wilds of Alaska, she doesn't hesitate. But with enemies in close pursuit and the weather turning sour, what should have been a simple mission quickly shifts to disaster.
And there's only one way out.
When Elias Thorne disappeared, he was America's most wanted. Now he's spent more than a decade in one of the most remote places on earth, guarding a dangerous secret. Leo's arrival, quickly followed by a team of expert hunters, leaves him no choice but to join forces with her—and run. Neither is prepared for their reluctant partnership to flare into something as wild and untamed as the frozen world around them...but as desperately cold days melt into scorchingly hot nights, Leo and Elias must learn to dig deep, trust in each other, and forge a bond as strong as the forces of nature.
Stranded together in a frozen wilderness,
There's nowhere left to run...
Review
I was bitterly disappointed with this book after absolutely loving the previous in the series. I did read Whiteout last January before the pandemic started and the deadly virus plot of the series definitely didn't affect me the way it did now, now it hit too close to home for me to enjoy the story and the romance.
It was not pleasant but I could have ignored it if the rest worked better for me. I can suspend belief regarding many things in romantic suspense but this book things too far and it felt ridiculous instead of engaging.
The heroine was sick (flu-type thing) throughout the book, on top of being injured and freezing to death for the most of it. It was stressful to read and honestly, felt superfluous, the tension was there even without it. The heroine is Black and she is an ex-military pilot but none of that is presented in much detail. From my position of an outsider, a Southeastern European white woman I expected it to be more central.
There is no romance to speak of in the first 40/50%. There was. no real character development either, just two people trying to survive in the Alaska wilderness while hunted by the bad guys.
I did like the final quarter of the book most of all - the romance was finally happening though I was not too fond of possessive, fated mates aspect in contemporaries, I can see it working here with all the adrenaline and emotions running high because of the extreme situations the MCs are in. At the same the whole danger/survival aspect was too much, we get reminded of her sickness and his injuries every couple of pages and it became boring at some point.
I liked the hero and appreciated the way he cared for the heroine. His backstory and current situation made sense though I was surprised by his abrupt change from a loner to someone who can't imagine life without the heroine. It all felt over the top to me.
There is a side plotline with Amka and the other people in town which didn't add anything to the story for me, I just found distracting.
I am intrigued by one of the villains who is morally grey but I am not sure that even his story will tempt me to continue with the series.
CW: an MC with flu-like symptoms, life-threatening injuries, violence, blood, dog in danger (survives)
0 comments